Sports

Tony Stewart hasn’t decided when he’ll return racing

Tony Stewart is still “grieving” after last weekend’s fatal accident and hasn’t yet decided when to return to racing, his reps said Friday morning.

“The decision was Tony’s” to not race Sunday in Michigan, said Brett Frood, executive vice president of Stewart-Haas Racing, at a press conference.

“(It’s) an emotional week for him. He’s grieving. (He) made the decision he’s not ready to get in the race car and will take it week by week.”

NASCAR instituted Friday a new rule prohibiting drivers from exiting their car in the event of an accident or if the car is disabled — a regulation officials said comes “on the heels of” of Kevin Ward Jr.’s death at an upstate New York track last Saturday night.

“At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach any portion of the racing surface or apron,” the rule said. “At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach another moving vehicle.”

“Really we’re formalizing rules that have been there,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition and racing development. “It’s reminders that take place during drivers meetings with drivers about on-track incidents.”

When asked if the formalized rule was created as a direct result of Ward’s death — in which he was walking on the dirt track when he was clipped and killed by Stewart’s car at a Canandaigua track — Pemberton said, “It was one of those things that was obviously something that everybody paid attention to. And it is on the heels of that.”

Pemberton said Ward’s death served as a wakeup call.

“Through time you have to recognize when you get a reminder or tap on the shoulder, something that may need to be addressed,” Pemberton said.

“This is one of those times where we look outside our sport and we look at other things, and we feel like it was time to address this.”